et non sapientior

At the end of April I had the honor of bearing and raising the colors in a joint march and memorial here in Western Australia for ANZAC day. The holiday was first started to commemorate the loss of more than 60,000 men of the Australian and New Zealander Army Corps during the First World War, later representing a commemorative service for all war dead in the subsequent years with a nationwide dawn service. As the suns sets here in Australia, it’s just starting to ink the horizon of the East coast of the United States with brighter shades and will begin our Memorial Day, like ANZAC day, remembering those who gave their lives that others might live and do so in freedom.

For those of us that have served, the concept of degrees of separation is far less than six to be remembering a missing brother or sister in arms today, even family. For we Americans, regardless of their degrees of separation, today is a day of reflection, of doing the things that our loved ones loved to do, remembering the good times gone by, helping families cope and visiting the lost. Flowers are laid, prayers are said, tears and laughter alike to be had.

Those of us abroad who can’t be home to visit with loved ones or visit the resting place of our family carry our own tributes. It might be a bracelet, a small token, pictures, but it helps. I picked up our flag in April in my own remembrance of not just of our fallen allies, but of our own joint fallen in these last decades of combat, to include the closest thing I have to a little brother. I spent today kayaking and making a haphazard attempt to fish which I know John would have been in tears laughing to watch, because boating and fishing were two things we enjoyed doing as children; things he obviously got far, far better at than me as an adult. In a few hours, instead of raising a flag, I’ll put a beer on the table next to John’s picture since that was the last brew we had together a few years back while I was TDY in Colorado, where he was stationed. After, I’ll sit back and watch Predator, one of our favorite movies growing up and I’ll probably follow that up with Aliens. I’ll call my folks and John’s folks once they get up and we’ll talk about old times and what’s going on now, I’ll send John’s wife and munchkins my love. Coincidentally, today is also my birthday and the irrationality of it all is that if I had a birthday wish it’s for the one thing I really can’t have, outside of old pictures like when we went to Medieval Times as kids for my birthday. I was born four years before John and am thankful for every moment we had, but I’ll be damned if I don’t wish I woke up in my bed in Guam the morning I got the news and it was all just a horrid dream.

Across the globe folks are doing similar things remembering the thousands of other losses in a service to sustaining our way of life. If you have half a chance, I’d ask you attend a memorial today, be a part of that national tribute to those that went before us. It doesn’t particularly matter if you don’t know someone who’s been taken in service of our Nation, you’re a tribute to their passage because you are walking, talking example of what that sacrifice was meant to preserve: you are an American.

EPA Whistleblower Who Complained About Pruitt’s Spending Inflated Military ServiceKevin Chmielewski complained about raises for Pruitt aides but did not disclose $24k in raises he received

An Environmental Protection Agency whistleblower whose complaints about travel and spending excesses by Administrator Scott Pruitt led Democrats to write a letter to President Trump citing “grave concerns” about Pruitt’s leadership appears to have inflated his service and accepted large raises during his tenure at the EPA.

Kevin Chmielewski, the whistleblower who recently spoke to House and Senate members about his concerns with Pruitt, apparently inflated his Coast Guard service on the resume he used to secure positions in the Trump administration by roughly three years, according to a comparison of his resume with a Coast Guard spokeswoman’s description of his service.

Additionally, Chmielewski benefitted from the same EPA hiring authority that he said EPA officials had used to dole out raises to two top Pruitt aides, according to knowledgeable sources and EPA documents.

Chmielewski received $24,000 in raises after just three to four months of service at the EPA, which neither he nor Democratic lawmakers have publicly disclosed even as the Democrats have cited his complaints about EPA spending on the two other staffers’ raises, according to sources and EPA documents confirming the raises.

According to four administration officials, the main allegations were brought forth by Vice President Mike Pence’s Army physician Dr. Jennifer Pena, who is assigned to Pence by the White House Medical Unit and does not work directly for the office of the Vice President. Those officials contend Pena has held a long-time grudge against Jackson because of his continuing promotions in the White House. She began her career at the White House during the Obama administration. According to the officials, Pena, who is still active military and assigned to the White House Military Office, did not follow proper protocol to report on the allegations. Instead, she went directly to the Senate with the support of some current and former White House medical staff who were her loyalists. None of the allegations she allegedly brought forth have been substantiated.

She “held a long time grudge“?!?! That’s IT?!?! And in this #MeToo #MeanGirlzRule age, I guess that gives you the “by your leave” to just act out your fit of pique and destroy willy nilly, as long as the target goes down.

There’s United States Army honor, courage and integrity values for you!

Now, as Ebola rightly pointed out, ANY service member can jump the chain of command and go straight to their Congressional delegation, for ANYTHING, free of repercussion. In most cases, those events have to do with legitimate service beefs, not indulging in personal vendettas and acting out.

It also makes one wonder, as all the “loyalists” and the ringleader herself are OBAMA HOLDOVERS, why weren’t these horrific allegations and turbid insinuations brought up when Mr. Feelz was president? SURELY HE was the guy to vanquish this toxically masculine insult to all that is moral and straight in the White House Medical Corps?

Surely he was. Unless justice wasn’t where you were going in the first place.

As RealJeffS said, I too, am hoping she finds herself – swiftly – in a lovely methadone clinic in Nan’s San Fran, accepting dirty needles back from the needy. It would be quite a while before I’d trust her with clean ones.